ASA Filament for your 3D printer

Introduction

Acrylonitrile Styrene acrylate was originally developed as a more weather resistant alternative to ABS and is commonly used in the automotive industry.

Structurally, ASA is very similar to ABS. The key difference in their properties is that ASA retains its gloss, colour and mechanical properties after prolonged weather exposure. Similar to ABS, ASA has great chemical and heat resistance and is both tough and rigid.

ASA prints very similarly to ABS. The print temperature will range from 240°C to 250°C and a heated bed at around 100°C will be required. ASA displays slightly less shrinkage than ABS however little or no cooling is still required to avoid warping. Better adhesion is usually achieved at the higher end of the print temperature range, ASA displays very little stringing so this is a good option to achieve good adhesion. Like ABS, ASA requires thorough ventilation when printing as it will release unpleasant and potentially harmful fumes.

Like ABS, ASA can be post-processed in a number of ways and can easily be dual-nozzle printed with HIPS.

ASA is great all round filament as well as being an excellent alternative to ABS that maintains many of the desirable properties of ABS whilst not degrading when exposed to weather and displaying slightly lower shrinkage. Here at Filaments.directory you can select the right ASA filament using our constantly updated list of suppliers and our comprehensive search tool!